Copyright © 2017 Denise Jacobs. Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc. Cover Artwork: Americo Morales Author Photo: Scott Redinger-Libolt Cover & Layout: Elina Diaz, Roberto Núñez Mango is an active supporter of authors’ rights to free speech and artistic expression in their books. The purpose of copyright is to encourage authors to produce exceptional works that enrich our culture and our open society. Uploading or distributing photos, scans or any content from this book without prior permission is theft of the author’s intellectual property. Please honor the author’s work as you would your own. Thank you in advance for respecting our author’s rights. For permission requests, please contact the publisher at: Mango Publishing Group 2850 Douglas Road, 3rd Floor Coral Gables, FL 33134 USA [email protected] For special orders, quantity sales, course adoptions and corporate sales, please email the publisher at [email protected]. For trade and wholesale sales, please contact Ingram Publisher Services at customer.service@ ingramcontent.com or +1.800.509.4887. Banish Your Inner Critic: Silence the Voice of Self-Doubt to Unleash Your Creativity and Do Your Best Work Library of Congress Cataloging ISBN: (paperback) 978-1-63353-471-1, (ebook) 978-1-63353-472-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017906492 BISAC category code SEL009000 SELF-HELP / Creativity Printed in the United States of America DEDICATION For my sister Diane and my mother Deloria. May they both continue to see, own, and fully stand in the power of their phenomenal creative selves. “Every creative person I know, from designers to CEOs, suffers from the inner voice that tells us we’re not good enough, we’re not special enough, and darn it, nobody likes us. While a little humility is a good thing, too much self-doubt can keep you from achieving what you were put on earth to accomplish. Being your best, authentic self is the only way to fulfill your dreams and leave the world better than you found it. Denise Jacobs can guide you away from your self-imposed naysayers and set you on the path to achieving the serene self-confidence you deserve. Nobody charts this terrain better than she does.” - Jeffrey Zeldman, studio.zeldman & An Event Apart “We are our own worst enemy and harshest critic when it comes to expressing ourselves. Fear holds us back from reaching our potential and gaining the recognition we deserve. That is why I am so excited about Denise’s book. Banish Your Inner Critic is the book I have been waiting for. A book I believe will inspire a new generation to step out of the shadows and shine.” - Paul Boag, author of User Experience Revolution “Creativity will be the universal skill of the future in both business and in life. Banishing your inner critic is an ability everyone will need to work on. Denise is a creativity coach, who goes deep into the reasons why we commonly think we are not creative. She then gives us real solutions for how to overcome those hurdles, and bring out the inner creative inside of us. If you are looking to rekindle your creative instinct, have I got the book for you!” - Jason Cranford Teague, Futurist Author & Speaker “Banish Your Inner Critic: Great book! Easy to read and fun to use. Denise Jacobs has done a wonderful job of taking the complexity of self, and creating a system for each of us to access our creativity and release our creative power. Denise breaks down the inner critic into types and guides each reader through the process to access her distinctive creative self. Banish Your Inner Critic provides knowledge, insight, tools and practice for getting unstuck and expressing full creative potential. Plus, reading Denise’s book is like spending time with her, and she’s an inspiring delight.” - Rebecca Stockley, Co-Founder of BATS Improv in San Francisco CA, www.improvlady.com “Denise brings a practical approach to silencing the voice in your head determined to undermine your ability to work. Banish Your Inner Critic is a manual for finding the destination, direction, and drive to succeed at life. As a remote worker I frequently find myself with self- doubt and rampant imposter syndrome. I now have the tools to purge those blockers from my mind and be the creative person I know I am.” - Aaron Douglas, Mobile Software Lead, Automattic (& WordPress.com) “Banish Your Inner Critic is a must-read for everyone who has ever had self-doubt. As I read Denise’s book, my head nodded in agreement and heralded a whole heap of ‘ah-ha’ moments for me. This is Denise at her creative best. I encourage you, Dear Reader, to go deep to banish your inner critic!” - Kylie Hunt, Workplace, Productivity & Happiness Specialist “With creativity comes periods of self-judgment that cause anxiety or paralysis. For designers, there is always this critical voice inside that questions what we are doing from time to time. However, whether you are a creative professional or not, everyone has the potential to be creative. In this book, Denise Jacobs empowers readers to silence their inner critic and unlock their potential to be their best creative self.” - Andy Vitale, UX Design Principal, 3M Health Care “There is an Inner Critic in all of us and it may be the thing that is stopping us from reaching our full creative potential. In this delightful book, Denise openly shares her own struggles with self-criticism, making us feel like we aren’t alone. She gives us permission to own it, the tools to get unblocked, and get on the path to a more creative self.” - Jessie Shternshus, Founder of The Improv Effect and Author of Ctrl Shift: 50 Games For 50 ****ing Days Like Today “It’s harder than ever to turn down the voices and channels vying for your attention; even when you do, you may find your own inner critic ready to thwart your creative efforts. But Denise Jacobs offers compassionate and practical guidance for overcoming those doubts, channeling your focus, and getting down to creating.” — Kate O’Neill, founder of KO Insights and author of “Pixels and Place: Connecting Human Experience Across Physical and Digital Spaces” “The high tech world has created an epidemic of impostor syndrome. People doubt themselves. You can disagree when others doubt you, but when you doubt yourself, who’s going to defend you? Take your power back! In this book, author Denise Jacobs gives you the practical tools you need to own the room by owning your self. Banish that inner devil’s advocate and become as powerful as you can be.” - Alan Cooper, Software Alchemist, co-founder of Cooper, and Author TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 17 Are You Doing Your Best Work? 17 Triumphing Over My Own Inner Critic 19 It’s Time for You to Triumph Too 24 How to Use This Book 26 The Content 26 Exercises: Creative Doses 27 Creative Dose Structure 28 Online Companions 29 Guidelines for Success 30 Choose Your Path 30 Write It Out 30 Dude, Where’s the Writing Space? 31 Give Yourself Time to Process 31 Read and Revisit 32 The Origin of the Inner Thoughts 32 Disclaimers 33 Chapter 1 | Why Banish the Inner Critic? 35 Our Intrinsic Creativity 36 Your Brain on Creativity 38 Creativity, Interrupted 40 Meet the Inner Critic 41 Creativity vs. The Inner Critic 43 Reclaiming Creativity 45 Chapter 2 | Take Back Your Creative Power 49 To Reclaim, We Must Rebuild 52 Recognize the Power of Thinking Differently 54 Take Advantage of the Brain’s Plasticity 54 Rehabilitate Your Thoughts 56 Build A Whole New Mind Frame 58 Give Yourself a Creative Dose 60 Become Full of Mind 63 CREATIVE DOSE: Mindful Thought Acceptance 65 Awaken Your Compassionate Self 68 Creative Dose: Self-Esteem vs. Self-Indulgence vs. Self- Compassion 71 8 Creative Dose: The Voice of Support 72 Glean Your Inner Critic Afflictions 75 Recognize Your Inner Critical Voice 76 Creative Dose: The Critical Voices in Your Head 77 Give It A Name 78 Creative Dose: Identify It and Name It 79 Learn the Guises of the Inner Critic 81 Creative Dose: The Many Faces of The Inner Critic 82 Know Thy Inner Critic 83 Creative Dose: Identify Your Inner Critic Achilles’ Heel 84 It All Begins With the First Step 88 Chapter 3 | “People Will Think My Work Is Dumb” - Judgment Dread 91 Are They Judging Me? They’re Judging Me, Aren’t They? 94 Dreading Judgment 95 Understand the Need to Belong 97 Know Negativity Bias and the Nature of Fear 99 Creative Dose: F.E.A.R. 101 Reconcile the Fear of Rejection 103 Creative Dose: A Face of Approval 106 See Reality More Clearly 108 Recognize Cognitive Distortions 109 Know Your Cognitive Distortions 110 Creative Dose: Surprise Journal 113 Seek Positive Confirmation 115 Creative Dose: Swipe File of Support 118 Stop Awfulizing 119 Creative Dose: “And then...” 120 Practice Radical Ratification 122 Stop Hiding in Plain Sight 123 Creative Dose: Your Uniqueness Advantage 124 Accept Who You Are 126 Creative Dose: Embrace Your Shake 128 Live Better Through Criticism 130 Creative Dose: Curious and Open 132 Stay True to Yourself 134 Creative Dose: More Clear, More Empowered 135 Choose to Contribute 136 Creative Dose: Focus on the Work 138 We’ve Only Just Begun 139 Chapter 4 | “Nothing I Do Is Any Good” - High Self-Criticism 143 9 Put the Hammer Down 146 Self-Criticism Constrains 147 Attend To Your Self-Talk 149 Release Outdated Expectations and Shake Off Shame 151 Creative Dose: Get At the Source 156 Come To Your Own Defense 158 Creative Dose: Compassion for the Selves 162 Stay In the Present 164 Creative Dose: The Anti-Rumination Hand Squeeze 167 Creative Dose: S.H.I.F.T. to Three+3 168 Get Perspective and Gain Control 172 Create A Healthy Mental Distance 173 Creative Dose: Self-Talk Reboot 175 Break On Through To the Other Side 178 Creative Dose: Inner Critic Undoing 179 Change Your Mind By Hand 180 Creative Dose: Swipe Left 182 Cease Self-Censoring 183 Question and Challenge 185 Creative Dose: Get Up, Stand Up 187 Tune In to Tune Out 189 Creative Dose: Turn Down Da Noise, Turn Down Da Funk 191 Reassign Duty 193 Creative Dose: The Inner Critic As An Intern 194 Walking Away From the Hammer 196 Chapter 5 | “I’m Not Good Enough”- Deficiency Anxieties 199 Enough is Enough 201 Use Your Brainpower For Good 202 Think Like a Scientist 203 Creative Dose: Emotion and Thought Inquiry 203 Shift to Ample 206 You Are Enough 206 Creative Dose: Take Inventory 207 Readjust to Trust 210 Creative Dose: The Parallel Trust Universe 212 Be A Friend Indeed 213 Creative Dose: Quantum Companionship 214 Learn, Expand, and Mix It Up 218 Believe That You Can Be Informed and Able 219 Know the Four Stages of Competence 220 10